Thank you Tim! Sometimes it isn’t easy to get exposure on this stuff. I appreciate all the help I can get.
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Anyone have experience with SLA printers? Need to make some “plugs” that are small enough (9/16" dia) that have OD features that an FDM would have issues with. I know there is FormLabs, but I’m not for spending $4000 entry for a proof of concept printer. I’ve heard of Elegoo but no idea on mars/saturn/jupiter and what their speeds are vs resolution, and then what kind(s) of resin they can print.
Need the things to be rigid like nylon/HDPE/acetal, but able to be “melted” just in case at elevated steam temps (~300F ish). Dual purpose, I’d like to swap out the resin for some lost investment capable stuff, in case I want to do any tree-casting.
Have you looked at the different resins for resin printers?
Yea, I know there’s a buncho of different ones with diff properties, but haven’t deep dived into it yet.
Also worried about how messy and sticky they are that I’m hearing through the vine…
It is a very messy process. I had several Elegoo printers which I sold, I still have a Phrozen Mega that I don’t use. After the print you need to wash it in alcohol to remove any un cured resin, then you put the part in a UV oven to fully cure it. You need to wear gloves, the uncured parts are slimy, the resin fumes can be very irritable and smelly (never bothered me)
The quality is perfect, the UV screens are now 4k and above, the Phrozon Mega is 8k. Ideal for making life like figures and the likes. A lot of the models you see on etsy that have been painted etc will be SLA as it really is that good. But brittle, I went though many different resins, all claimed to be “engineering resin”, some stronger then others but all had one thing in common, drop it on a hard floor and your picking up the pieces.
I have been tempted to get a Form labs SLA printer, but only for one reason and one material. They do a castable resin, one shot. This allows you to cast aluminum parts, if you have the means to melt aluminum. They have some other good materials too, like ceramic but that involves a lengthy after process.
You mention the part needs to melt. That wont happen with SLA parts, The resin wont melt , it just burns and breaks down into a powder like substance, if you get it hot enough. Things like heat set inserts don’t work on SLA parts.
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Thanks for that. “Melting out” would be a just in case while being used the part gets stuck, so that’s a big factor.
I do some casting here and there, but mostly bulk material melt downs with my propane / bounce house blower powered furnace. I’ve been wanting to get into vacuum casting, as I have an HVAC vacuum and chamber, the refractory, and enough stainless exhaust tube to make the flasks, just… time, and I’d need a smaller furnace for the small shots necessary and burnouts.
Looked at a formlabs, but good lord, $4k entry price?
Alternatively, this stuff seems to have good reviews on the zon for castable SLA printable stuff
amazon.com/dp/B0BCFTSQZ9
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The material has come a long way since I was messing with it. The form labs castable resin creates the mould to pour the aluminum directly in. Vs the lost process where you have to build up the layers then melt out the inside.
Form labs is expensive but I recommend their equipment, I’ve never had any issues with the printers I have. They will also print some sample parts for you if you get in touch with their sales team.
I had several Elegoo Saturn printers, I had no issues with these too, that would be a cheaper option compared to Formlabs. Don’t forget to add in the wash station and the cure station.
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This counter snapping mechanism is amazing. It’s bizarre that a new mechanism can happen out of nowhere these days. 3D printing is a big part of this. People being able to iterate reliably.
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Rapid/reliable iteration, yes, but let’s not downplay the massive brainpower/curiosity required to even dream up the concept. Really fascinating!
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Glad to see you here on the forum. I watch all your videos. More aluminum welding videos. We all want to see your progression 
@CrazyCasey
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I know, I know. And all I’ve got are excuses. When this Mustang is finally out of my shop, I hope to get back to some more creative work. And my little ‘28 Ford Roadster is going to need plenty of aluminum parts.
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So Jimmy, @ChelanJim, I wonder if you like the new Bambu HD2. All my stuff is one color: BLACK ABS, excluding the larger size. What are your thoughts? Here is your chance to spend my money…
I am absolutely loving it.
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It has a scaled down version of the X1C’s “getting ready to print”. It still does a brief "auto level and print head alignment and a brief 2 inch long test line in the front of the plate and then immediately gets to printing.
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Twice now I have designed something and thought it would fit on the X1C but it didn’t. No problem…just printed on the H2D.
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I am itching to have the need for the two colors or two filaments, especially a different interface material for the supports. I just have not had the print the screamed that it required that extra attention. I think partially I am waiting for the powered fed AMS-HT. Initially, I preordered them (2 of them) @$200 each but I was annoyed that they were charging me a separate shipping fee on each of $18. Three days ago they dropped the price to $160 so I cancelled my order and order just one so it will arrive in another week or so. I figure since I was going to be charged $18 shipping for each, that I was not saving my ordering two. Now they are out of stock.
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I am really excited about the Hi-Flow hotend but it has been out of stock this entire time. That is reported to speed up large prints as much as 30%.
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I found several times after starting a large print (2 and 3 days), I have had multiple reasons for wanting to print something smaller…so I did. On the X1C.
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I did find having the AMS unit sitting on the top of the printer proved to be pretty annoying when I did have some clogging issues. I had to bend and twist down thru the door to get to the print head parked in the back of the machine. That really bothered my back. I now have a shelf that holds the AMS above the printer and there is lots of room to remove the top cover and address whatever issues with the print head. Removing the clog was fairly straight forward: heat up the hotend, remove the hotend with leather glove and push my poker rod down from the top of the hotend. I ended up needing to do it twice but then it finished the 3 day print with only minor defect.
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Love the active drying feature of the AMS unit. I have done that twice and it gives you lots of confidence that it is ready to print even after installed. But you can’t print while it is doing this drying feature.
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I think it prints better than the X1C but I think I might be just wanting to further justify the purchase.
All in all, I am really satisfied. For those of you wanting a much larger unit, this unit may not satisfy that itch.
It is currently on a 2 day print of this 1.4 kg of filament model. I am making my 4th version of a trailer jack block. the hole, near the base is for a rope handle to be added. The hole in the top is a drain. And this version seals the bottom so the sand and spiders don’t find homes. We have brown recluse spiders and hobo spiders on the west side of the state and a fair number of Black Widows on the eastern side of the state.
Forgot to mention to mention two other features: active heated and active venting of the chamber. You can see the vent opened at the top. I have not printed any ASA nor ABS that would benefit from the heated chamber but am hopeful that the heated chamber will make a difference.
I finally found a graphic of how they expect the AMS units will be attached to the H2D. There are just using this simple adapter. There is no need for the print buffer because the buffer is built into the printer on both lines (internally).
You can see the buffers in this photo (not a great photo):
Here is the full layout:
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Yeaaaahhhh. Not helping my wallet either.
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I’m VERY excited to get one of these. I’ve had quite a few prints that could have benefit from the multi-material capability.
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Glad its working for you out of the box.
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Hopefully this works. Thought people may be interested how SLS works from a view from the camera inside the machine.
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New Mr1 drains (making some mods). Wasn’t sure whether to leave it open and catch all the chips in a basket underneath or incorporate a ‘cover’. I put the cover on tabs so I can cut it out later on, I’ll probably still need a strainer underneath for the small parts that pass though… Its 12" length x 2" wide and will connect to 1.25" pvc pipe.
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I made one too, but on my sloppy bed slinging voron clone. Still need to add the 1/4-20 countersunk flat head fastener.
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Filaments: Brands I am really liking.
First I want to say that I have spent the last 5 days designing and printing a modular funnel set. This all started because the dump truck I drive once a week, needed oil last Saturday. It is about 2 feet down from the top to get to the fill hole and there are hoses and wires in the path. I finally had to fill a funnel with oil, plugging the end with a finger and then lowering to the inlet and then let go. Most oil ended up where it was suppose to go.
I asked the primary owner of this establishment “How do you put oil in ‘Dumbo’ [trucks moniker]?” He replied “I have never done it but I know what you mean because I am having the same problem figuring out a solution for my truck.”
So here is what the set currently looks like. This the 80% size:
Here is a comparison to my original design and I think it will work well for that dump truck.
So I said this was about Filament Brands:
Elegoo Rapid PETG was acceptable but had trouble with good threads, white filament in the photos.
Sunlu PETG was better than Elegoo but not perfect but I accidently allowed supports on the threads and forgot to mark “Only critcal” and “remove small overhangs”
GratKit PETG was very good with threads, almost perfect.
Bambu EF PETG was superb in every respect. The threads simply glide on one another and that entire set was printed in one plate on the H2D. The gray filament in these photos is the Bambu EF PETG.
So in conclusion, I guess I should stop doubting Tin’s experience with such things (He has said “It is ONLY Bambu filament for me.”)
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